Going Undercover
by canny-bairn
Summary: The team know something is going on, but they have no idea how bad things can truly be. Team Fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer – I own nothing CM related!**

**So, this is just a little drabble based on the hints that perhaps the writers might want to pursue a storyline for JJ going undercover.**

**I'm on the fence about the idea of JJ going undercover. On one hand it could be great character development especially if there are lasting effects of her going undercover and AJ could shine, but on the other hand, the show isn't great with continuity and there should be a real reason for JJ going undercover and not some crappy excuse, forced, out of nowhere or a superspy, a la Prentiss, reason. After all, Morgan's the one with the undercover background (apparently, we once were told but never really followed up on) and JJ has been the face of the BAU for many years with no undercover experience that we know of. **

**So here's my little take on the potential Season 9 storyline that may yet not even happen.**

**Let me know what you think.**

**...**

The Unit Chief stared at the report in front of him.

He'd been on the same page for the last hour and a half but if someone had asked him what the case was about the distracted agent would have no answer.

He'd been in his office all morning, which he knew would not go unnoticed by his teammates. If any of them had bothered to check the building log, they'd realise their supervisor hadn't gone home in two days.

He knew he'd been in a funk these last few weeks, and he knew his colleague's were confused and concerned, but he had a job to do and that sometimes meant being their boss and not their friend.

The single father had been snappy and even more stern than usual, although he knew it was a manifestation of his worry and guilt, all the team knew was that he was grumpy.

"Hotch." Blake stood in the office doorway, her eyes wide in uncertainty.

"Yes." He greeted tersely.

She pointed behind her jerkily. "We're all gathered around the roundtable. Are you ready?"

"For what?" Hotch asked shortly.

"It's 10 a.m." Blake frowned as he continued to stare at her indifferently. "It's time for the team briefing."

"Give me five minutes." He replied gruffly, before focusing back on the report in front of him.

The team were needed in Atlanta for this case, but the Unit Chief's mind was elsewhere.

He could lie to himself all he wanted, but things were bad and he had no idea what to do.

After all, Blake was wrong. Not all the team were gathered in the bullpen. Excluding him, their former media liaison turned profiler was also absent.

Erin Strauss' replacement, Quantico's new Section Chief Bryan Mackenzie had reinitiated JJ's contract with the DOD, weeks into his new position. Surprisingly, JJ hadn't objected and was currently alternatively working with the BAU one week and the DOD the next.

In the meeting about JJ's new responsibilities, Hotch was again surprised to find out that JJ and Mackenzie apparently knew each other from her early days in the Bureau and had already been in discussion about JJ returning temporarily to the DOD. Hotch had negotiated the new alternative timetable, worrying that JJ's role would become more permanent if she spent long intervals with the Department of Defence.

That was the story he had relayed to the team four months ago.

But there was more to the story than he had let on.

What he kept from the group was that, JJ was looking into a leak in her former unit on behalf of the State Department and Mackenzie was only one of the point people for the investigation. The politics and complexity of the operation was way above his rank and pay grade.

Three days earlier, the politics hungry Section Chief had approached Hotch and had informed him that JJ hadn't checked in as usual.

Hotch phoned Will to dig around about his partner's whereabouts, but sensing he was clueless, the seasoned profiler made up a story about a case that JJ was being sent on and would be out of touch for a little while. Once Will seemed convinced, Hotch marched back up to the Section Chief's office and demanded to be briefed.

Mackenzie agreed to bring Hotch onto the case, but Hotch wasn't allowed out of building until JJ was found.

Looking at the box next to his desk, Hotch groaned in frustration.

The case JJ had been working on was deceiving. It looked straightforward, but the deeper JJ got, the clearer it became how dangerous the situation was. There was no one she could truly trust and the leak of information seemed to be the least important part of the investigation, considering how many people JJ was monitoring.

Now the mother of one was out of contact and considered missing. No-one had seen or heard from her in seventy two hours and the last thing she had been looking into was bank accounts of high ranking government officials.

JJ was probably in some serious trouble and Hotch couldn't do anything about it.

The team needed to be in Atlanta, tomorrow.

But JJ was missing and he was ordered to not leave his department.

Taking a fortifying breath, Hotch closed the Atlanta case file and reached for the box.

Screw Mackenzie.

They had twenty four hours to find their missing friend.

...

**There may be a follow up some time in the future. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimed!**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and followed this story.**

**I don't know how long this one is going to be, it was going to be a one shot but I have an idea for the storyline.**

**Let me know what you think!**

...

Hotch grimaced as his friends and teammates stared at him as though he'd grown two heads.

"JJ's undercover?" Morgan was the first to recover from the Unit Chief's revelation.

The elder profiler sucked in a tight breath. "Not in the traditional sense. Everyone knew JJ from her time spent between the Pentagon and the State Department during her stint away from us."

"But now she's gone missing?" Rossi clarified.

Reid scrunched his eyes up with a worried thought. "Are we facing another Emily-Doyle scenario again?"

"Emily as in Emily Prentiss, the woman whose desk I took?" Blake interjected in confusion.

Morgan tilted his head conspiringly to offer the newest team addition an explanation. "Prentiss went rogue after a former IRA member, and ex target of a JTF operation she was a part of, came back targeting former members of the task force, she was previously a part of. Emily tracked down Doyle, the IRA arms dealer, to stop him coming after us. He staked her, we thought she died, only Hotch and JJ relocated her to France without any of our knowledge."

Blake nodded in shocked understanding before Hotch continued.

"No, this is not the same. Like I said, JJ is not undercover in the traditional sense and there is no need for her to run or to be out of contact." He expanded.

Rossi cleared his throat. "So explain it to us."

"Mackenzie approached JJ after he was appointed Section Chief and asked her to return to some of her responsibilities with the DOD." Hotch clenched his jaw at his boss' seemingly simplistic order.

Morgan nodded. "Yeah, we know this, Mackenzie wanted an 'in' person over there."

Hotch sighed. "Mackenzie is one of a group of Section Chiefs, Directors and their equivalents who are concerned about a spate of leaks in information concerning secret operations, surveillance methods and government run trials. The State Department determined that the leaks originated from the DOD."

"He wanted JJ to act as an Internal Affairs agent?" Rossi deduced with a scoff.

Hotch paused briefly. "In a sense, although this was more about figuring out how high up the leaks went and if the leaks have consequences for certain operations that we don't have privilege too rather than the usual I.A. case."

"So how come JJ got dragged into it?" Blake asked.

"JJ's previous role, while classified, involved liaising between the DOD and the State Department. Apparently she caught somebody's attention over in State and that person got in touch with Mackenzie. Between them, they devised a plan so JJ could return to liaising with her old teams over there and provided her access and authority to figure out who is involved and who is potentially dangerous to national security." Hotch stated with a shake of his head.

"Was she looking into this leak by herself?" Garcia finally spoke, while nervously looking around the room to gage her colleague's reactions.

Hotch slowly shook his head with uncertainty. "Mackenzie and the others thought JJ could utilise her profiling skills, discretion and her established networks, to gain access without drawing attention to herself. She had a support team but they were outside the Pentagon."

"Let me get this straight, do the people over in the Department of Defence know JJ was investigating them?" Morgan questioned in disbelief of the situation.

Hotch shuffled on his feet as he rested his hands against the box he had placed on the table. "Everyone thought JJ was there to finish some of her old cases, which she did as a cover, but no one was told the real reason of JJ's return."

"So how did she go missing?" Rossi wondered out loud.

The Unit Chief closed his eyes momentarily before explaining. "JJ was supposed to check in with Mackenzie on Friday. She didn't. As far as Will knows, she's working a case for us in Florida, he has no idea that she's been working over in the DOD. Sandy hasn't heard from her in weeks. Mackenzie contacted some of his counterparts and no-one had heard from JJ since an early morning meeting on Thursday but she had been sighted inside the Pentagon. When JJ hadn't checked in again on Saturday, the Chief called me."

"What the hell happened then?" Morgan prompted.

"I honestly don't know. There is no evidence of a struggle anywhere near her last sighting nor is there any CCTV footage that I can find. All of JJ's cell phones, email and the GPS in her car aren't pinging." Hotch indicated to the file on the desk in front of him. "These are the files I've been granted access too. They're all JJ's notes. Most of them are profiles and risk assessment forms, but there are a few coded pages. I thought Reid and Blake, you both could have a look and see if you can decipher JJ's thoughts."

"It's going to be difficult without knowing JJ's key to translate them." Blake said softly.

Hotch passed one of the folders out of the box and passed it to the older woman. "Just try."

Reid stood to look through to small box for answers. "JJ's really in trouble?"

"Three days with no contact, numerous high profile suspects and sketchy albeit dangerous situations relating to the leaks, I think we should be preparing for the worst." Hotch retorted dryly.

Morgan shook his head. "JJ should have come to one of us..."

Hotch interjected quickly. "JJ didn't raise suspicion of anyone or any place, and kept the powers that be up to date. I didn't want her to take up this role, but neither of us really had a choice. The plan looked good and JJ was not exactly facing hardened criminals that we knew of at the time."

"What do you want the rest of us to do?" Rossi asked to the leading profiler from his seat at the opposite side of the roundtable.

"I'm not allowed to leave the building. I shouldn't have even told you all about this, but I'm worried and I don't think JJ is safe. I know we should be en route to Atlanta but I'm going to ask Cooper's team to take the case. We're going to start knocking on some doors and start scouring DC. Someone involved in this case knows where JJ is, we're going to find them." Hotch instructed firmly.

Rossi smirked at the supervisor's confidence. "What about Mackenzie?"

Hotch tensed. "JJ's missing. McKenzie pushed her into this case, I'll start with him, the rest of you start with the case files in here, JJ was looking at and see if anyone looks like a person of interest, before we bring anyone in for questioning."

"You really think we should be prepared for the worst?" Garcia asked hesitantly, with emotion choking her throat.

Hotch met the usually exuberant TA's eyes in sympathy. "JJ's been missing for three days, the next 24 hours is crucial."

Rossi clapped his hands together as his voice bellowed. "Well, let's get started."

...

**Thanks for reading!**


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